10 Marvel Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

5. Marvels

You only have to utter the words "Alex" and "Ross" sequentially to get comics fans excited, with the artist's photorealistic style having made him stand out among other artists in the medium.

He's one of the industry's most recognisable talents, and while he's mainly done cover work for the past few years, Ross is able to boast a fine bibliography of comic book greats, including Kingdom Come on DC's end, and Marvels on... well, Marvel's.

The book - released in 1994 and written by Kurt Busiek - centres around everyday photographer Phil Sheldon. Its genius, however, truly lies in its historical motif, with Busiek electing to follow Sheldon not from a contemporary angle, but rather from 1939 onwards. Doing so affords Ross the ability to illustrate the Marvel Universe right on through World War II all the way up to the Bullpen era of the sixties, and it looks magnificent.

Providing readers with another perspective from which to observe Marvel's most iconic events, Marvels stands out today for being one of the most unique books in their company catalogue. No True Believer should go without it.